Two Becomes Three
by Philisnotonfirebecause
Summary: Steve and Tony decide they want to start a family, this is the story of how they adopted Peter and what happened next!
1. Chapter 1 - Breakfast Surprises

Steve was sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, watching Tony cook them both breakfast. It was times like this when Steve could forget everything he'd been through, everyone he's lost, and just be happy. The sort of happy where you realise just how content you are and how lucky you are to have everything you've got. He was sat, his chin resting on his palms and a content smile on his face whilst he watched Tony's back.

The smaller man was cooking bacon and pancakes, their favourite. He was humming quietly at the same time, Tony being just as happy as Steve was. He kept jumping between making a pancake and then checking on the bacon and then back to the pancakes. There was a slight skip in his step.

They'd been married for the past 3 years, quite happily. Of course they'd had arguments, very relationship does, but they never went to bed angry at each other. No matter how much they had shouted at each other, thrown things across the room and insulted each other, if they were still hadn't sorted things out by the time they were getting ready for bed they would sit down, on the edge of the bed, and talk things through until they came to an agreement. There arguments rarely got this far though and neither man could bare fighting with the other so apologised fairly quickly.

Within a few minutes the food was ready and Tony handed Steve his plate. Steve smiled that loving smile in thanks and began working his way through the food in front of him. He was already half way through the bacon and taking the first bite of his pancakes when he realised Tony hadn't touched any of his breakfast.

"Baby? What's wrong?" Tony glanced up from his plate when he heard Steve's pet name for him. He took a deep breath, as if pausing to gather his courage before he spoke.

"I've been thinking," He began, pausing again when he saw Steve's head tilt slightly with curiosity, not unlike a confused puppy. "What if we, ya no, had kids? It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…" His voice trailed off, eyes staring at the marble slab atop the breakfast bar.

Steve stayed silent for a few minutes, considering what Tony had said. Did Tony want to have kids? With him? Obviously they'd have to adopt, but was Tony really serious about this? It wasn't just some little project he'd thought of to be discarded in a week once he was bored of it? How long had he been thinking about this? How many kids? What age? What gender? Steve's mind began to run away from him as he began panicking a little, but keeping all evidence of it hidden. He'd been close to Tony for several years now and had gotten pretty good at reading further into what Tony said but he was a bit unsure with this one.

"Are you serious? You want to have kids?" Steve studied Tony's face as he spoke, looking for any clues that this was just another one of the smaller man's jokes, but couldn't find any.

Tony nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a while. It would be cute, having a little kid to play with, teaching him the science of the suits when he's older, being the coolest dads at parents evening…" He smiled at the thought, then blushed as he realised he was talking out loud. He wasn't great with talking about how he really felt but this situation called for it.

"There would be a lot more to it than that Tony, it would be a lot of hard work, being responsible for a whole other life, that life completely dependent on you for AT LEAST a couple years. And then there's the fact we're Avengers. We've made a lot of enemies. Would we be able to keep our child safe? Would it be worth that risk? We're surrounded by violence all the time, whether on a mission or just training, is that really a good environment for a growing child?" As ever, Steve was being the rational one, thinking through every outcome, the impact their lifestyle would have on an impressionable young kid.

Tony still didn't meet Steve's eyes, he knew he would react like this. Steve had always been more responsible than him.

"We aren't fighting all the time! He wouldn't have to see us fight at all, not until he's older. And we've managed to keep the world safe these past few years, surely we can manage to keep a child safe! We could do this, I think we'd be great parents!" For the first time in this conversation Tony looked Steve in the eyes. He really wanted this, it was written all over his face but he knew he was struggling to convince Steve it would be a good idea.

Steve was silent for a long time, weighing up all his options, trying to figure how to best to say it wasn't sensible without hurting Tony's feelings. But the look on Tony's face told him that there was no way to tell him without breaking his heart so he simply nodded and said "I'll have a look around, see what I can do"

Tony smiled, doing a bad job of keeping the excitement off his face. He got up and skipped around the breakfast bar, placing his hands on each of Steve's shoulders and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He went to skip out of the room, his breakfast untouched and forgotten but Steve stopped him, catching his wrist.

"What about your breakfast? You went to all that effort to make it and you've not touched yours at all!" Steve laughed, his loving smile once again plastered across his face. Only then did it dawn on him that Tony had probably cooked this amazing breakfast to soften him up, put him in a good mood in hope of a good reaction once he brought up the topic of having kids. He didn't mind though, he liked it when Tony made an effort.

Tony's smile faulted, realising he'd forgotten about his food completely. Without saying a word, he sat down again and begin tucking into his pancakes. Steve smiled at him, finishing off his food, and Tony smiled back sweetly. They looked happy, despite the worries flying around Steve's mind.


	2. Chapter 2 - Early Morning Conversations

It has been a couple days since that conversation over breakfast and now Steve was lying awake in bed, hands under his head, a sleeping Tony lying on his chest. The conversation he'd had about kids he been constantly on his mind.

And he hated to admit that the more he thought about it the more he was coming round.

When he couldn't sleep at night he'd think about it, imagine himself with a little boy, his son. Imagine dressing him up in tiny Captain America and Iron Man costumes, falling asleep with the toddle on his chest on the sofa after watching a Disney marathon, making the worst mess possible as the three of them were baking cakes and pancakes in the kitchen. Yes, Steve was falling in love with the idea of having a family.

Back before he was frozen he'd always wanted to find a wife, settle down and start a family. He'd always known he'd liked guys as well as girls, and being straight was the cultural norm, he'd always assumed he would have a wife. After he was frozen, he wasn't quite the same. The world wanted Captain America, not Steve Rogers, so that's what he did, he pushed aside everything Steve had wanted and he what Captain America wanted - throwing himself wholeheartedly into every battle that needed him and devoting his life to saving as many people as possible. But Tony wanted him for Steve Rogers. Sure, they would work together and Tony would call him Cap then but as soon as they were back home at Stark Tower it was straight back to Tony and Steve instead of Ironman and Captain America.

Tony stirred on his chest, yawning and rubbing his eyes, before looking up at Steve and flashing that million dollar smile. Steve leaned down and gave him a quick kiss.

"Good morning, gorgeous" Steve whispered, a smile on his face. Tony snuggled back down onto Steve's chest, his arms tight around his waist. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony, pressing him as close to him as he could. They both sat there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying their domestic life, before Steve decided to break the silence.

"Tony… I've been thinking… about what you said the other day." Steve spoke, nervously, unsure of how he would word what he wanted to say and how Tony would react.

"Mmmh? The other day?" That wasn't what Steve was expecting. Tony was still half asleep, he doubted the genius could even remember what day it was today. Steve laughed lightly and answered his husband's question.

"About adopting…" Steve said, trying to jog Tony's memory. It seemed to work, Tony lifted his head a little as his mouth made a 'O' shape, as if silently saying "ohhhhhh".

"What about it?" Tony mumbled, his face once again buried in Steve's chest.

"I think you're right. I've been thinking about it a lot. I wasn't sure at first, it's a big responsibility having kids, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. I want to start a family with you." Tony looked up at him when he said this, knowing that Steve had had his doubts about having children, he was completely shocked to hear that Steve had changed his mind - happy but shocked!

The surprise had woken Tony up completely and as he looked up at Steve, his eyes wide and sparkling, he felt as if he couldn't love this man more than he did in that moment.

"You agree with me? Really?" He sounded like a 5 year old who had just found out they were going to Disneyland for the first time but he didn't care. He was happy, truly happy.

Then the doubts started.

He remembered the time, just after they'd fought Ultron, when Steve had said he'd wanted a wife and kids before he was frozen, but a different person had come out of the ice. What if that was still how Steve felt deep down inside? What if he was just saying this to keep Tony happy? And if he was, would he pretend he cared for the child just to give up the act in a few months and leave the child with daddy issues almost as bad as his own? All this went through Tony's mind in a fraction of a second.

And Steve knew it. He'd seen Tony's smile falter and he knew Tony's insecurities better than anyone, probably even Tony, so he knew exactly what thoughts were racing through Tony's mind right now and he hated them.

"Stop it." Steve spoke, practically commanded, his face completely serious. He saw the worry and then confusion flash across his partner's face before Tony tilted his head like a confused puppy, and Steve knew he was about to ask what he meant so cut him off before he got the chance.

"You shouldn't think like that. I want to start a family because I love you. I love you Tony Stark and we're ready for this. It hadn't occurred to me until you brought it up 4 days ago but since then I've wanted nothing more than to start a family with you, my beautiful, genius, ridiculous husband." And with that he kissed him again, but a proper kiss this time. He pulled Toby further up his body so he could reach his face much easier and so Tony's full body was lying on top of his.

Tony's hands automatically cupped Steve's face and Steve wrapped his arms around his husband's waist. Tony's doubts washed away as Steve kissed him passionately, mainly because his brain had stopped working.

Steve pulled away after a few minutes and Tony pouted, not wanting to stop quite yet. Steve just giggled at him and pushed his pouting face away, rolling Tony onto the bed next to him.

"I'll see if I can ask Fury about it later today, see if he knows somewhere where we can adopt a kid. You never know, he might even know of some kids with powers! Imagine that, a superhero family - a superfamily!" Steve laughed, putting his arm around Tony's shoulders.

"We'd be just like the family from _The Incredibles_!" Tony laughed, but quickly realising that Steve didn't understand that reference. He waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, as soon as we get a kiddie, you'll know who _The Incredibles_ are!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Our Little Boy

"Girl or Boy? What would you prefer?" Steve asked, feeling like an excited schoolgirl talking about their crush, as Tony drove them both towards the Triskelion to talk to Fury. He had a small smile on his mouth, not fulling grinning, he was happy, the sort of happy where you feel completely content with how your life is and all you need is a small smile and sparkling eyes. Tony lived for that look on Steve's face.

"A boy, definitely! I could teach him so much! Mechanics, electronics, coding, physics, all that science-y stuff you don't understand" Tony laughed as Steve pretended to be offended before laughing as well. Steve could picture it so clearly. In his mind he saw Tony and their son (he imagined him as a small 5 year old with messy brown hair and wide innocent eyes) working in Tony's workshop. Tony stood next to the workbench and the boy sat on top, they were working away at some gadget, screwdrivers and welding torches and spanners scattered around them. He could picture Tony building a small Iron-man suit for his son, making him truly Tony's mini-me. He giggled at the thought.

"Me too! I'd love a little boy! I mean, a girl would be cute too, but I don't think either of us would be very good at doing pigtails so a boy would probably be best!" Steve laughed, now thinking about the things he could do with a son. He imagined playing Frisbee with him, as the kid got older it would become much more intense as Steve's job was basically him saving the world by Frisbee. He could teach him manners, how to treat girls properly, how to fight someone who isn't treating a girl properly, how to never give up and how to dream big. In his mind he had already fallen in love with this child, and they didn't know a thing about it yet!

"You realise your lives are pretty dangerous, right? Is that really the environment you wanna raise a kid in?"

Steve and Tony stood there, staring at Fury, with Steve's arm over Tony's shoulders, whilst Fury kept giving them excuses as to why they shouldn't have kids. Every reason he gave them just made them more determined than ever.

"Who will look after the kid when you're both away on missions? You can't just leave him alone! Do you know how difficult it is for gay couples to adopt? I'm not against you two being together but there are still a lot of people in this world who are. This kid is really going to be singled out at school, did you ever think of that?" Fury questioned, looking very sceptical of their plans.

"Are you seriously suggesting he might be bullied? I think with Iron-man and Captain America for his dads he'll be okay." Steve countered, his eyebrow raised, whilst failing to hide the sass in his voice. Fury was being ridiculous! If anyone could protect a kid it was them; the two most famous superheroes in the world!

Fury just glared at them for a few moments before sighing and running his forehead in exasperation.

"Fine but if this goes tits up then it's on you. I know of one kid who would probably fit in with you guys pretty well. He's…. special. He has gifts, we just aren't quite sure what the extent of these gifts are yet. He's only 2, so I doubt he knows what he's capably of either." Fury told them, his face empty and unmoving, like a statue, whilst occasionally checking a computer screen for information about the kid.

"He's special? So it's a little boy!" Tony said, his voice all high pitched and his hands clasped together under his chin, like a toddler whose just seen a puppy. He had his heart written across his face so it was pretty obvious to everyone in the room that Tony's heart was just melting at the thought of finally having a son of his own. Steve wasn't any doing any better. He was stood with one arm around Tony's shoulders and the other resting on Tony's arm nearest to him, and he was holding on tight, he was just so excited, with a wide grin on his face.

"Yes, he's male. He's actually here at the moment, we were doing a couple tests on him, seeing what he can do and things like that. Would you like to meet him?"

The next 20 seconds were full of Steve and Tony quickly saying lots of different variations of 'yes' and some other random noises which when heard all together became an unintelligible squeal. Fury looked at them with an expression that wouldn't be unusual if they'd just grown another head. He had one eyebrow raised and looked slightly weirded out by the two men. After scaring at them for a few more moments, he shock his head and continued walking towards the door.

"So what can this kid actually do? What do you know so far?" Steve asked whilst holding his husband's hand. They were walking down a long, dull corridor on the way to see a boy who might become their son.

"We don't know much so far, we've only known about him for a month or so. His parents both died a couple months ago and because he had 'gifts' we decided to bring him here. From what we can tell so far, he's very like a spider. He can crawl up walls and ceilings, shoot webs and has heightened senses. We aren't very sure of his past so how he got these gifts is a mystery. Still sound like something you wanna take on?"

"That sounds great! Imagine having a kid with powers, just like us! We could be our own superfamily! He wouldn't need us to protect him from bullies, he could do that himself!" Steve said, excitedly. The first sentence he was talking to Fury but the rest he was saying to Tony, looking down at his smaller partner, squeezing him tight.

"Well, okay then…" was all Fury said back. They walked on in silence for another 10 minutes, and Tony couldn't help but wonder how Fury knew his way around this building. There were thousands of corridors and they all looked exactly the same! It was like a maze. A maze full of dudes wearing a weird combination of suits and combat gear (which always annoyed Tony. "Wear a suit if you're going to a business meeting or a fancy dinner. Wear combat gear when you're a non-superhero that's fighting crime. Don't combine the two.") Finally they stopped outside a metal door, completely plain except for the sign on the door that read 'Nursery'. Fury didn't say anything but gave them a brief look before opening the door.

Inside there was a small toddler fast asleep in a crib. He was a chubby little baby with messy brown hair and a very sweet face. He was lying on his back, his arms and legs spread out around his like a starfish as his blanket was pushed to the bottom of the crib. He was wearing very adorable Captain America pyjamas and his tiny right hand was clutching a small teddy as if his life depended on it. The walls of the room were bare and windowless, and a desk was sat in the corner, this clearly having been an office beforehand, (Tony couldn't help but wonder if whoever had had this office had been kicked out of it so the toddler could be moved in, and if so, how annoyed was he?). The floor was scattered with little toys, a small train set, a couple action figures and other soft toys, and even a little dollhouse complete with dolls in the corner. The minute Steve and Tony saw the little boy they knew he was the one for them. It might take time to actually finalise everything and get the child moved in but they were going to put the work in, and they were going to become this tiny toddler's dads. After a quick look around, Fury spoke.

"Gentlemen, this is Peter Parker."


	4. Chapter 4 - Completely In Love

When Peter woke up, it was clear to Steve and Tony he was confused, slightly scared and curious about them being there. He looked at them for a few seconds, his back pressed up against the other side of the crib, as far from them as he could get. His eyes skipped between the two of them, trying to figure out if they were friendly, if he already knew them, if they'd brought food? Steve and Tony bother stared back, both unsure what to do. After a few more seconds Peter's curiosity won out and he stepped towards the other side of the crib and held his hand out towards them. ****  
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None of them said anything. Steve and Tony just stood there, staring at baby Peter who was repeatedly opening and closing his little fist in there direction. Both men were very unsure what to do, they'd never been near a child before. What if they hurt him? Upset him? Even if it was by accident, would they still be allowed to adopt Peter? ****  
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Without warning, Tony stepped forward towards the crib and knelt down a little so he was at the same level at Peter. ****  
****

"Hey, little guy" Tony cooed, his voice slightly higher than normal, in the sort of way you might talk to a puppy or, like in this case, a young child. Peter stared at him blankly for a second, his eyes moving all over Tony's face and up and down his body, before he leaned against the bars and pointed towards Tony's chest, his arc reactor. Tony glanced down quickly, saw the faint blue light shining through his dark t-shirt, and looked up at Peter, a small smile on his face. ** **  
****

He stepped closer, still kneeling down at Peter's level, so he was now close enough so Peter could reach him. And he did. His chubby little hand reached out and pressed up against the middle of the arc reactor, then closed into a little fist, as if trying to grab the light coming off of it. Peter looked up toward Tony, the worried and blank expression completely gone from his face and replaced with wonder and curiosity. He looked back down when he saw Tony smiling at him and continued to try and grab the light. Tony was grinning by now, this was one of the cutest things he had ever seen and it made him feel a lot less self conscious about his arc reactor when Peter tried to grab it once again, failed, and giggled in the more adorable way imaginable. ****  
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Meanwhile, Steve was stood behind him, watching all this happen. At first he was only thinking about how sweet Tony and Peter looked together, which made him smile, but then he began to think about how much Tony was going to be falling in love with this tiny child in this moment and realised that he was going to have to adopt him, there was no way Tony was going to leave this room if Peter wasn't with him and the idea made him smile even more. ****  
****

Steve took a step forward too, and knelt down next to Tony, placing a hand on his back and smiling at him when he looked over. Peter looked over to him as well, grinning and giggling and grinning, Tony's t-shirt held tight in his little hand. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them really aware of how much time was passing, only noticing that they were falling for this toddler pretty quickly. ****  
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They'd also forgotten that Fury was still in the room, watching all this happen. So when he spoke, stood in the corner, both noticeably jumped. ****  
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"You can pick him up yanno" was all he said, but you could hear the smirk in his voice. He was finding it pretty funny to see these two big tough men fawning over a little child. ** **  
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Steve and Tony both glanced at each other before Tony stepped back and Steve forward, putting his hands under Peter's arms and lifting him up out of the cot. As he did so, Peter's little arms reached out towards him and landed on the side of Steve's cheek and shoulder when Steve moved him so he was perched on his hip, holding little Peter close to his body. Peter's hand went straight to the hair on the back of Steve's neck and started fiddling with it the way young children do when their attention is elsewhere. He was staring up at Steve, pretty intently, whilst Steve looked back, grinning and making funny noises and faces at him. He felt his heart leap up when he got Peter to giggle. Tony had one of his hands on Peter's back, making him giggled too. They stayed like that for a long time, just the three of them, playing and giggling.

"You think you'll adopt him then?" Fury was asking them as they walked away from the room. Peter had gotten tired after a couple hours and they put him down to go back to sleep. Steve and Tony had been reluctant to leave him, having completely fallen in love with Peter but they understood that he needed to sleep so agreed. ****  
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"Of course! He's absolutely perfect!" Tony spoke, practically jumping up and down. Steve had his arm loosely around Tony's shoulders, both of them unable to stop grinning and only half aware of what was happening around them; the other half of them imagining what life would be like once Peter was finally living with them. ** **  
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"How soon will it take until he's officially ours?" Steve asked, ever the sensible one of the pair.

"Not too long, a couple weeks maybe. That should be enough time for you two to sort out the Tower? Get everything baby proofed and move all the dangerous equipment you guys just leave lying around?" Fury countered, being the only one of the three to think about the important things about adopting a child. The other two were just too in love with idea of adopting Peter to think rationally right now, like where Peter's room was going to be, what they were going to do with him whilst they were working and anything about how to look after a child. Neither of them had even picked up a child until a couple hours ago.

"We can do that...yeah..." Steve sounded slightly unsure, after all there was a lot of weapons just left lying around the tower, what with all the different avengers coming and going as they pleased. But none of that really mattered right now. They were adopting a baby. They were adopting Peter. Sweet, adorable, slightly chubby Peter. He was going to be their son.


	5. Chapter 5 - First Day As A Family

Ever since deciding that they were actually going to adopt Peter, all Steve and Tony had done with their spare time was prepare Stark Tower for a toddler. They'd cleared out one of the biggest rooms on the same floor as their room and had been redecorating like crazy. They'd also agreed that as Peter got older he could move bedrooms, move to another floor if he wanted, just to get a bit of space from his dads. They both grinned like moron when they thought of being dads.

So far, they'd painted the room a baby blue, set up a big cot in the corner - obviously the best money could buy - a small bookshelf with some like children's books on it they thought he would like, some boxes full of brand new toys sat next to it. Near the cot there was a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, full of lots of tiny little clothes that had nearly caused Steve and Tony to die from cuteness whilst picking them out. Tony, despite showing a much harder exterior to the world, kept going back just to look at all the tiny shoes and socks they'd bought - far too many for one baby but they just couldn't help themselves.

One thing they hadn't considered though, was that Fury had told them that Peter seemed to have powers similar to a spider, meaning he could crawl up walls, hang from the ceiling, that sort of stuff, and they had no idea how they were going to keep Peter safe whilst he swung about the tower, which he was bound to do, no matter how much they would try to keep him safe.

But finally the moment came when they got to show Peter his new home. Steve carried him inside whilst Tony carried in the few items of belongings that Peter already had - a worn teddy, a few clothes and a couple almost broken toys. Peter watched everything from Steve's arms, his eyes big, trying to look at everything at once. Without even realising it, he'd wrapped his chubby arms around Steve's neck, who felt almost giddy from happiness in that moment. He could see Tony from where he stood, and could see he was exceptionally happy to see Steve and Peter getting on so well, albeit a little jealous it wasn't him Peter was cuddling up too.

They decided to take Peter straight to his room first, as he would probably spend most of his time there. After closing the door so Peter couldn't run away and explore the rest of the tower on his own, they put him down and let him look around the room himself before they started playing with him. Peter toddled about, first looking into the cot through the bars on the side, then going over to the boxes full of toys, pulling stuff out at random, looking at it briefly before dropping it to the floor and diving back in for another toy. Steve and Tony couldn't help but laugh at him, he was interested in everything! Watching him toddle across the room, they could feel their hearts swell in their chests, they were just so fond of this adorable little boy - of THEIR adorable little boy.

After sorting through all the toys, Peter had finally settled on his favourite. Moving closer, Tony couldn't help but laugh when he saw what it was - a little toy laptop designed especially to help babies learn the alphabet and numbers, the exact toy that Tony had insisted on buying for Peter whilst telling Steve how Peter was going to grow up to be just like him, a wizard with technology. Peter began pressing the buttons on the 'keyboard' and too his absolute delight it started making noises! Telling him what the letters and numbers sounded like, but he didn't really know that, he just liked the sounds it was making.

"Hey there bud, whatch'a got?" Tony said as he cleared a space in the mountain of toys so he could sit right next to Peter. Peter turned to look at him, turned the toy laptop slightly in Tony's direction and began pressing buttons madly again, his tiny face going back and forward between the toy and Tony, the biggest grin possible plastered all over it as he giggled at the noises being made, showing Tony how much he loved this new toy. Tony giggled back and pressed some of the buttons himself, playing along with this new game peter had invented.

Steve moved to sit next to Tony, one of his arms moving so he had it across Tony's shoulders, and just sat there watching his boys play with the toy, happy that Tony and Peter were getting on so well so soon. The three of them sat like that for hours, playing with various different toys and looking at different books but always coming straight back to that one little toy laptop. After giving Peter his dinner - some of his favourite food that the nurse who looked after him had told him about - and splashing around in the bath as they washed him, it was time for Peter to go to sleep.

They were both a little nervous as they didn't know how well Peter would sleep on his own in the new surroundings that night but it was worth a try. They'd set up various baby monitors throughout the room, and if that didn't work they'd instructed JARVIS to keep an eye on Peter and tell them if anything was wrong.

They'd changed him into some new pyjamas they bought for him after a long debate about whether or not Peter should have pyjamas with his dads on - they'd decided that it would look adorable so yes, he now had Avengers pyjamas. Whilst Tony got everything ready for Peter to go to sleep, Steve sat on the floor with a rather worn out Peter on his lap, reading him a bedtime story. Peter kept yawning and cuddled up against Steve as much as he could, clearly happy and falling asleep. After Tony had sorted out the cot, they lay Peter down, put his little blanket over him, his worn out teddy next to him.

Peter looked up at them both through sleepy eyes as they both told him how special he was and how much he meant to them and that they were never ever going to leave him. How Peter doesn't need to worry about anything ever because they will always take care of him, no matter what happens, they will always be there for him.

Tony turned the nightlight on - the one that left a pattern of what looked like little stars all over the walls and ceiling, and quietly left the room, knowing it wouldn't be long before Peter was sound asleep, closing the door behind him.

"That was the best day of my life" Steve whispered to Tony, careful in case the sound travelled through the door.

"I'm offended, I thought our wedding day was the best day of your life" Tony whispered back, acting insulted.

"Don't get me wrong, our wedding was a fantastic day, but are you seriously telling me that those past few hours we've just spent with Peter were weren't as good as tying the knot?" Steve smiled back at him.

"He's pretty great, isn't he?" Tony conceded, grinning at the memory of playing with Peter on the toy laptop.

"He is, he really, really is." Steve replied as he pulled Tony in for an extremely tight hug.


	6. Chapter 6 - Spidey Powers

Before Peter had moved in with them, they'd been allowed to spend time with him at SHIELD, but there was always another agent keeping watch, just in case Peter got hurt, and to stop him using his powers. Now that he was living with Steve and Tony, they didn't want to stop him using his powers, they just wanted to keep him safe instead. They encouraged him to use his powers when they were in the same room as him, but he would get told off if they found out he'd been using his powers without them there to look out for him.

Today they were going down into Tony's lab (recently cleared so that Peter couldn't hurt himself on anything there either) to test how much the toddler could actually do. Steve carried a giggled Peter down the stairs, pulling faces at him as he went. Tony was just ahead of them, already typing the passcode into the door to the lab to let them all in.

Peter had never been down here before and his eyes widen as he took it all in. He'd never been in a room this big before. The ceiling was high, at least 8 meters above them, and to a tiny child like Peter the room seemed to go on forever. There were desks and machines littered around the edge, but the space in the middle of empty, save for some mats on the floor that would protect Peter if he fell.

"Okay, little man, ready to show us what you can do today?" Tony spoke as he took Peter from Steve's arms and placed him in the middle of the mats. Being 2, almost 3, Peter understood what was being said to him and was always excited to swing about the room. His tiny brain was already whizzing through all the things he could do in a room this big.

"You sure this is a good idea, Tony? What if he's almost at the ceiling and falls? No amount of mats is going to stop that from hurting him." Steve pointed out. As excited as he was to see what his son could do, he didn't want him getting hurt as soon as they'd gotten custody of him.

"I'm sure, but I'll tell you what, I'll put on one of my basic suits and stay close okay? So if he does fall, I can catch him." Tony reassured, already heading over in the direction of his suits. "And while I do that, you keep Peter entertained."

It only took Tony a second to come back with his suit on. Like he'd said, it was a simple design. No fancy gadgets, no guns or anything like that. All it does is fly. It was more a prototype, an early design for a fancier suit, yet it was still painted the classic red and gold as Tony never did anything by halves.

"Ready to go?"

"Course"

"Okay then Peter, ready to go, little man? Let's see what you can do!" Tony said to Peter as he knelt down on one knee, his mask up so that Peter could see his face and wouldn't get scared. Peter just giggled and jumped up and down, ready to get going.

"Okay then, not to high though." Steve added, always thinking safety first.

Peter jumped up and down again, before shooting a web up towards the ceiling, far above his little head. He then pulled himself up rather fast.

Only Steve's fast reflexes stopped Peter from rising above their heads and he quickly grabbed his ankles and telling him that was high enough. Peter seemed disappointed for a second before he moved onto other thoughts, the way toddlers do. He looked around briefly before shooting another web towards the ceiling, so he now had one from each wrist. He hung there for a second, clearly unsure of what to do as he'd never been allowed to get this far before, but after a little encouragement from his dads, he dropped one web and shot another, moving slightly across the room.

"Look at him go Steve! He'll be overtaking us soon!" Tony cheered, in a stupid high-pitched voice that made Peter giggle more.

Again, letting go of one web and shooting another, this time a little further away, Peter moved further across the room, clearly getting the hand of it. He began the process again and again, moving further and faster each time. The strength that must have been in Peter's little arms amazing Steve as he watched him go, Tony following closely behind him, arms out to catch him if he needed to.

It wasn't long until Peter had done a full lap of the room. Steve had followed him round too, calling gentle encouragements when Peter didn't seem too sure of what he was doing.

After another half lap, Peter's little arms began to shake, and as he went to shoot another web his grip on the one holding him up slipped and he fell. Both parents lunged forward to catch him, but Steve was much too far away to get there in time. Luckily, Tony had been following very closely and had his hand around Peter's waist in a second, catching him before he even got within a meter of the ground.

Clearly shocked that he'd fell, Peter quickly began to cry and Tony held him close, but he couldn't cuddle him too well as he was still wearing the suit. He nodded to Steve and he came over and took Peter, whispering little comforts in his ear and he rocked him side to side. After stepping out of the suit, Tony moved over to his husband and his son, putting one hand on each of their backs and comforted Peter too.

"I think that's enough for today, don't you?" Steve whispered to Tony after pressing a kiss to Peter's forehead. Tony nodded in response and began leading them out of the lab, back towards Peter's room and all his comforting things.


	7. Chapter 7 - Spidey Senses

It had been a couple days since they'd first began to see what Peter could do. A couple times since then they'd seen Peter shoot a web towards the ceiling and then look at them to check it was okay, a little hope in his eyes. If it was okay then they said so, if it wasn't they shook their heads and Peter would stop immediately. They'd also seen him shoot a web at toys on the other side of the room and use it to pull the toy towards him so he could get the toy without even getting up. Steve had missed that one, but Tony found it so funny he'd filmed it so they could watch it over and over again.

Since starting to use his powers more, Peter seemed to be getting much better at them and they seemed to be coming more naturally. They'd seen him standing with both feet on the wall, as if gravity had been reversed. They were taking it all in their stride but both men were getting worried that Peter would eventually hurt himself without them there. They had JARVIS watching Peter 24/7, whether his parents were there or not, and as soon as Peter started using his gifts JARVIS would let them know and encourage Peter to stop until his dads got there.

It was the middle of the day, Steve sat on the sofa reading the paper and Tony working on whatever gadget he was designing at the table on the other side of the room, with Peter playing on the floor, his toys scattered about around him, talking to himself. Big open windows ran along one wall, wall to ceiling, letting in the midday light so the room was bright. Every now and then they'd look over at Peter and watch him for a few minutes, smiling to themselves, and go back to what they were doing. Everything truly was perfect.

Then Peter suddenly started crying. Both men looked at each other before they went and sat on the floor next to their son.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Steve whispered but Peter only cried louder. They glanced at each other again before Tony spoke.

"JARVIS, any idea what happened?" Again, when Tony spoke, Peter cried louder, kicking the toys nearest to him.

"Not currently, Sir. Peter didn't get hurt and nothing seems to have gone wrong to upset him." Both men got more worried with JARVIS' response, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Well, keep checking the tape just in case."

Slowly, the room darkened a little as a cloud passed in front of the sun and Peter's crying quietened a little almost immediately. He was still crying but not quite as much. Both men looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing.

"JARVIS, close the blinds" Steve whispered. JARVIS did so, and Peter's crying quietened right down, into little whimpers and the occasional tear down his face. The room was almost completely dark now, they wouldn't have been able to see each other if it hadn't been for Tony's arc-reactor.

"Was the light too bright for you, little man?" Tony said, and as soon as he spoke Peter's crying got louder again. Again, the men looked at each other, once again confused.

"Sir, if I may, I believe I may know what is wrong with young Peter." Came JARVIS' voice.

"Go ahead, J"

"Well, after some observation, I believe Peter's senses may be heightened, and Peter would be more sensitive to things like light and sound. And with him being so young, he won't necessarily know what's happening or how to cope with it, hence the crying."

As soon as JARVIS said it, it became pretty obvious to both of them. The sound of them talking was making Peter feel worse, and the room still seemed too bright. Tony glanced down, looking at his arc-reactor, before looking up at Steve, not knowing what to do about it as the light shone through his t-shirt. Steve seemed to panic too for a second but recovered quickly, getting up to go and grab one of his jackets from the other side of the room. It was a thick jacket, and way too big for Tony, but Tony threw it on anyway and zipped it up. The thick fabric seemed to cover up most of the light and the room was plunged into darkness. Steve bashed him knee against a coffee table as he was walking back over to them and swore quietly under his breath.

"We should get him to his room." Tony whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible. Peter was back to only whimpering now, clinging to Tony like his life depended on it. Steve nodded and helped Tony get up without dropping Peter. They slowly made their way across the room and towards Peter's bedroom, careful not to bump into any of the furniture.

The curtains were open when they got to Peter's room, and Steve ducked in quickly and closed them, as Peter's cries grew louder again for a moment. Once the room was completely dark, Tony stepped in with Peter and placed him gently in his cot. At first, Peter didn't want to leave Tony and clung on to him before finally relenting.

Neither man said anything, but they stood near their son, Steve holding Peter's little hand just to let him know they were there without having to say anything. They didn't know how long they stood there, but it was a very long time, before Peter's breathing evened out and his grip on Steve's finger loosened. He'd finally fallen asleep.

They waited another few minutes before leaving the room, just to make sure Peter was definitely asleep. Closing the door as quietly as they could, they stood in the corridor for a moment before Tony leaned forward and pressed himself against Steve.

"How can we protect Peter from himself?" Tony whispered, as Steve put his arms around the smaller man and pulled him closer.

"I don't know, but if anyone can figure it out, you can" Steve replied, pressing a kiss to Tony's forehead.

"JARVIS, keep an eye on him, and make sure the room stays quiet and dark."

"Yes, Sir."

"I don't know about you, Steve, but I think Peter's got the right idea. Time for a nap?" Tony said, pulling himself as close to Steve as he could, his eyes closed, and buried his face in Steve's shirt.

"I think so." Steve picked Tony up, carrying him bridal style, towards there room. Tony closed his eyes and enjoyed being so close to the man he loved so much, to the man he'd started a family with, to the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. They might struggle a little, of course they would have their ups and downs, but they'd get through it. To him, his life was prefect.


	8. Chapter 8 - Unlike Father, Unlike Son

"YOU COULD HAVE DIED!"

"BUT I DIDN'T"

"BUT YOU COULD HAVE!" YOU WERE BEING SHOT AT WHEN YOU DIDN'T HAVE YOUR SUIT ON"

"I HAD MY SHEILD THOUGH"

"YOUR SHIELD IS THE SIZE OF A DINNERPLATE! WHEN THAT MANY BULLETS ARE FLYING AT YOU IT WON'T MANY ANY DAMN DIFFERENCE!"

Peter stood in the doorway, arms wrapped tight around his teddy. His Pops, Steve, had been away for a few days working, though Peter didn't really understand what he did. His dad, Tony, had put him to bed, thinking that Pops wouldn't be home until tomorrow, but he'd arrived early after Peter had fallen asleep. He'd awoken to hear his dads arguing pretty loud, unaware that Peter could hear them. He'd heard his Pops voice and wanted to see him so headed on through, only to find them arguing with each other. He stood in the doorway, without saying a word, and watched his dads, his head going from side to side.

He didn't completely understand what they were talking about, but he could see they were angry and didn't like the sound of it. Squeezing his teddy tighter to his crest, Peter began to cry silently, his dads still not noticing he was there.

"IM OKAY ARENT I?! WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?!"

"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?! YOU'RE ALWAYS DOING STUPID STUFF LIKE THIS! ITS LIKE YOU WANT PETER TO GROW UP WITHOUT YOU!"

He regretted it as soon as he'd said it but didn't back down. One of these days Steve was going to get himself killed if he wasn't more careful, and whether or not he wanted to confront it, if he did get himself killed then Peter would have to grow up without him. Steve was shocked that he'd said that, and could see the logic in it but was also refusing to back down. He was just about to speak when both men heard a loud sniff coming from the corner of the room. They turned and saw Peter at the same time, clearly surprised that he was there.

"Peter, honey, what are you doing here?" Steve tried to ask softly as if everything that was just said never even happened. Peter didn't reply, just stood there and sniffed as his bottom lip quivered. "Come here, sweetheart."

Steve went over to Peter and picked up him, holding him close. Tony was still rooted to the spot, his brain still processing that he'd just said Steve might die in front of their infant son. The scene kept playing on repeat in his head, the angry look on Steve's face and the tears running down his son's face. He couldn't help but think of the times his dad had made him cry when he was Peter's age.

 _Steve was wrong. I have turned into my dad. I'm a terrible father, just like he was. And Peter's going to grow up just as fucked up as I am and it is going to be all my fault. This isn't fair on Peter, I can't do this to him, he'd hate me for it. He'd hate me for leaving, but he'd hate me more for staying. Steve would hate me too. I can't force Steve to give up his son, it wouldn't be fair on him either. I'd have to leave him too. He'd understand though, wouldn't he? In the end, he would._

"Tony, you okay… sweetheart?" Steve pulled Tony out of his own mind, but the way he added 'sweetheart' made it sound as though he wasn't quite sure that was what he should be calling him.

"Of course." Tony mumbled before quickly leaving the room, despite the tears on Peter's face and the confused look on Steve's. Jumping into the elevator, it only took him seconds to get down to his lab, his mind running away from him all the while.

It was another half an hour before Steve came down to see him. Tony was sat in the corner at one of his desks, his body curled in on itself as if he was trying to hide from the world, which, in a way, he was. He didn't even look what when Steve walked over and perched on the desk in front of Tony, his arms crossed. He was concerned about him, but still angry at him. After all, he'd said they might die in front of their baby boy, and then simply left when they had to deal with a crying Peter. That sort of anger didn't go away just because Tony was upset too.

They sat like that for a while, neither man saying anything. Tony was waiting for Steve to have a go at him and Steve was waiting for Tony to either apologise or completely break down. In the end, they both went to speak at the same time.

"Tony, I think we need to talk about what happ-"

"Is Peter okay?" Unsure that Tony had actually spoken, Steve paused for a moment to process what had just happened. He'd been expecting to have to coax Tony into talking into of having Tony interrupt his first sentence. Though it did make him slightly happy that his first concern was Peter.

"He's a bit upset, but he'll be okay. I've put him back to bed, he was falling asleep when I left." The tension seemed to fall out of Tony's shoulders as Steve spoke, relieved that Peter wasn't devastated.

"Are you okay?" Steve couldn't help but ask; he was angry at him but Tony was still his everything.

Tony sighed before responding, but Steve knew he needed time to put his thoughts into coherent sentences and so waited until he was ready.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying not to become like my dad, I want to keep Peter happy and now I've upset him. I can't take back what I said, or say it was a lie because it wasn't. I didn't want to be like my dad but here I am."

Now it was Steve's turn to sigh before he replied.

"You aren't like your dad. Yes, you've upset Peter today but do you know what makes you different to your dad? You care that you've upset him. You're sat here now beating yourself up because you made Peter cry once. Your dad never did that, he was never concerned when he upset you. Bad people don't care about improving themselves, good people who think they're bad people and feel bad because of it? They truly are good people."

Now was the first time Tony moved; he looked up at Steve, his expression a combination of shock, gratitude and love.

"You think so?" Tony whispered, wide-eyed, trusting.

"I do."

Tony smiled, before falling forward into Steve and wrapping his arms around his hips, his face pressed against Steve's stomach. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony's shoulders, holding him as close as he can, and smiled to himself, his anger forgotten. They stayed sitting like that as Tony's shoulders began to shake, crying silently as he finally let his emotions out. Steve just stayed there, one hand running through his hair, whispering reassuring comments in his ear until he finally calmed down.

"How about this: tomorrow, instead of going to the debriefing, you and I take Peter out for the day, a little family day out to cheer him up. We could go to Coney Island, buy him so ice cream, maybe go on a few rides, he'll forget about today in no time."

"Wouldn't Fury be pissed at you for skipping the debriefing?" Tony mumbled into Steve's top, still not ready to move from his husband's hold.

"Let him be pissed, you and Peter are far more important."

Steve felt Tony smiled against his waist and the decision was made. Tomorrow they'd go to Coney Island with Peter, SHIELD be damned, and they'd show Peter once again that he meant the world to them.


End file.
